Ant Group's AI Health App AQ Rebrands as 'Ant A-Fu', Surpasses 15 Million MAUs with 'Health+' Strategy

December 15 News: Ant Group announced that its AI health application, AQ, has been rebranded as “Ant Afu,” and released a new version of the app, upgrading three major features: health companionship, health Q&A, and health services.

The upgraded “Ant Afu” focuses on the “Health+” strategy, shifting its positioning from an AI tool to an AI health companion. It helps users manage their own and their families’ health like a real-life friend, delivering the advantages of professional comprehensiveness, personalized exclusivity, and rich services.

Currently, the “Ant Aifu” app has surpassed 15 million monthly active users, ranking among the top five AI apps in China and becoming the leading AI-powered health management app. Reportedly, Aifu currently handles over 5 million health-related user queries daily, with 55% of its users coming from third-tier cities and below, clearly demonstrating its inclusive nature.

Zhang Junjie, Vice President of Ant Group and President of its Health Business Group, explained that the name “Afu” signifies that “health is a blessing,” implying that for health-related matters, one should turn to Afu.

The most significant change in the new version of “Afu” is the addition of a health companionship module, aiming to accompany users in cultivating healthy habits from their daily routines and building a robust health defense.

First, users can record their health status via the “Health Mini Journal” module on the homepage. Currently, Afu has integrated smart devices from nine major brands, including Apple, Huawei, vivo, Yuwell, and Omron. By binding these devices, users can synchronize daily health data and view metrics such as physical activity, heart rate, and sleep duration on the homepage.

In addition to smart devices, users can also keep records by taking photos or uploading images. In some regions, they can even authorize one-click import of their past medical consultation and physical examination data, which is then archived and organized by Afu to prevent loss or forgetfulness.

In addition to their own, users can also create health records for their family members on Afu. Afu will track and analyze health trends like a "family doctor," safeguarding the health of the entire family.

Furthermore, the new version of Aifu has launched two companion-style features: “Health Mini-Goals” and “Health Mini-Reminders.” Users can set health goals related to exercise, diet, and lifestyle habits. Acting like a “personal coach,” Aifu customizes exclusive plans based on these goals and provides daily reminders.

Zhang Junjie stated that the upgrade from AQ to Aifu represents a transition from an AI tool to an AI companion. The upgraded Aifu can accompany users like a friend, understand them like a friend, and maintain strict confidentiality like a trusted confidant, ensuring peace of mind and reliability.

“The professionalism and usefulness of the responses are the foundation of an AI tool,” said Zhang Junjie. In his view, Aifu should engage in genuine one-on-one conversations with users, akin to a doctor friend, personal nutritionist, or fitness coach, avoiding generic advice in favor of personalized, tailored strategies for each individual.

With the Health Companion module, users enable A Fu to track their health dynamics, allowing A Fu to provide more targeted, precise, and professional responses.

For users who are unable to clearly describe their condition, Afu’s “AI Clinic” mode simulates a human practitioner by proactively asking follow-up questions and even providing illustrative diagrams to help users accurately articulate their issues.

Afu’s Health Q&A: Beyond understanding voice and text, it can also interpret images. Users can take photos to ask questions—whether it’s skin conditions, test reports, or medication packaging—and receive evidence-based health education answers from Afu.

It is reported that Aifu’s “Skin Scan” feature provides personalized skincare recommendations and can accurately identify 50 common types of skin diseases. In the “Privacy-Protected Scan” mode, user-submitted photos are fully redacted throughout the process, alleviating privacy concerns. Meanwhile, Aifu’s “Report Scan” supports three input methods: taking a photo, uploading a PDF file, or uploading an image. It not only interprets individual reports but also enables comparative analysis across multiple reports, covering 99% of common medical reports with an interpretation accuracy rate exceeding 95%.

Zhang Junjie introduced that Aifu is positioned as an AI health companion, addressing users’ basic and common health questions in daily life, helping them cultivate healthy habits, and catering to the intermediate healthcare needs that fall between everyday life and hospital care.

Afu’s responses do not constitute medical diagnoses and will never replace consultations with licensed physicians. For users with genuine medical needs, Afu, as a platform, connects them with 300,000 licensed doctors across China to provide online consultation services. Users can also utilize Afu to schedule appointments, purchase medications, and present an electronic health insurance code for payment at hospitals.

It is reported that six academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/Chinese Academy of Engineering—Liao Wanqing, Dong Jiahong, Wang Jun, Chen Zijiang, Wang Jian’an, and Wang Ningli—have led more than 500 renowned physicians across China to launch their own “AI avatars” on Afu, cumulatively addressing over 27 million health consultations. “Afu can serve as an assistant to hospitals and physicians. By leveraging digital platforms and intelligent technologies, it enables one physician to provide the capacity of ten, making professional health services more accessible and inclusive,” stated Zhang Junjie.

As early as November 2023, the Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission jointly launched China’s first digital health persona, “Anzhen’er,” with Ant Health. It has become an AI agent application with nationwide influence in the medical field, responding to the public’s demand and expectations for professional AI services.

To better meet the health needs of users across China, Ant Group has officially launched “AQ,” an AI-powered health application for nationwide users, and completed a brand upgrade by renaming it “Afu.” Zhang Junjie stated that the Zhejiang National Medical Artificial Intelligence Base has provided strong technical and resource support for Afu’s specialized medical large language model, solidifying its professional foundation. This enables Afu to deliver higher-quality services to every user with health needs and continuously contribute to the advancement of the “Healthy China” strategy.